While pulling my van into my garage I've noticed what I would consider an excessive amount of water coming out of the A/C condensate drain, at least I think that is where it's coming from as I couldn't actually locate the drain line. My research revealed that it's above the transmission, which makes sense because it was running down and dripping off the back edge of the transmission pan. When I say excessive I mean a steady stream, not dripping. After about 5 minutes of idling there was a probably 2' diameter puddle on the floor. Temp outside was about 90 and pretty humid so I know it was pulling a lot of moisture out of the air but I've never seen what looked like a faucet running under the van. Is this normal and what should I check if not? There is no cabin air filter installed and I know very little about A/C systems. The A/C was blowing cold and seemed to be fine other than the lake forming underneath.
Excessive A/C Condensate Drainage
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If it is clear and has no odor to speak of - then it is condensate.
One of the ways that air conditioning can help it "feel" more comfortable is to reduce the humidity to a lower level than might otherwise in the outdoors.
There also might be more moisture in the van as various materials out gas, such as carpet, insulation, wood or similar.
I have wondered about using condensate as a way to obtain water of sufficient quality for cleaning things - not drinking or for food use.
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You may have been parked sloped/angled, or the drain may have had a small blockage (spider web/nest) so it built up. When you arrived home, it finally drained out all at once. It's normally a steady drip. Double check the drain for blockages and try to recall if you spent a while parked sloped/angled while idling with the a/c running. That happened to me with my minisplit after a week parked on an uphill slope. Turns out I need to add a second drain to the rear too, which fortunately is easy.
Cheers.
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I'm an automotive AC engineer, sounds normal to me, but it's hard to tell how big your stream is. Vehicle HVACs are designed with tilt angles in mind, it's usually 15 degrees, in every axis and combined, (Pitch, Roll and Pitch+Roll). It would indicate a problem if there is a tiny trickle or nothing when running and then a downpour after shutdown (evaporator icing up and then thawing)
Thanks for the replies, it doesn't sound like something I should worry about. I don't normally park in the garage or idle in place for very long so maybe I've just never noticed that amount of condensation, but I'll keep an eye on it for now.
A 2015 with lots of smiles and miles might be time for 'my' air pressure clean. After a 15-20 mile humid day drive set the heater / AC control to upper dash outlets only (no air directed to feet) then close all the dash vents. Turn off the 'Recirculate' button / switch. Place the Temperature setting in the blue area and Not in the Max A/C setting. Turn the fan speed knob all the way to -4- and let that incoming air blow all the accumulated condensate out the exterior drain tube. Yes the evaporator can freeze up with not enough air flow to push accumulated condensate off the evaporator fins. Fan speed -2- or higher should prevent the freeze up. If underway and it starts feeling humid or clammy then bump the fan speed up and turn off both Max A/C and recirculate button for a mile or two and thaw & freshen up the evaporator. Good Luck
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